THE KOUROS

In the life of every tennis player, there is a stage where you can say the body is at its

peak. For a time, we all are in prime condition and all our bones, muscles and joints

are working perfectly. This is, more or less, where Roger Federer, with his 16 Grand Slams, and Rafael Nadal, with his nine, are at now. But even the less athletic among us will feel full of vitality, and suffer no aches or pains when your body is in peak form.

The ancient Greeks carved such an image of perfection in marble. A “kouros” is a statue of a young male, standing, arms at his sides, left leg forward, looking straight ahead. It is not the image of a particular youth, but of youth itself.

The kouros then (or any one of us at the time we function perfectly, with no discomfort, weakness or limitation) knows no pain or suffering.

His joints move freely along pre-determined pathways. His cartilage, discs and menisci act like shock absorbers. His muscles trigger contractions and his movements are fluid, agile and effective. All the systems he needs to move around are working properly.

If we take this ancient Greek figure as our starting point, we can explain most of the chronic muscular-skeletal injuries that tennis players suffer in muscles, joints, tendons, bones and ligaments, either due to the passage of time, or from the hours spent on the court.

Any physical decline leads our joints, muscles and fasciae (the connective tissue between muscles) to adapt to our habits or circumstances.

Locked or limited joints will have a negative impact on movement. Shortened fasciae or inhibited muscles can also lead us to move poorly.

All of this can lead to injury, pain and premature decay in some structures such as the surfaces of joints and tendons.

So we get stuck in a tug-of-war: on one side, practice, decay, aging, erosion, discomfort, locking, limitation, weakness; and on the other, willpower, care, diet, maintenance, preventive work and exercises to try and halt the decline due to the passing of time.

Anyone can monitor and influence these adaptations to the body, following the basic principles of training. Cars, motorbikes, bicycles and machinery all need care, attention,

check-ups and maintenance—and so do we. If your body is healthy and well looked

after, you probably will not suffer from tennis- related injuries, and you will get much

more out of your tennis.

To achieve this injury-free state, whether you are a junior or a senior player, you need

to follow a few basics rules:

• Keep your body and all your joints in tiptop shape. Make sure you can move freely,

because limitations in movement are the first cause of knee, elbow and lower back

pain. Also remember, these limitations then can lead to secondary injuries like knee and

elbow tendinitis. Daily movement exercises for every joint are important to prevent tennis- related injuries. Use them as a warm up

and you will feel the difference.

• Check that all your muscles are balanced and firing strong. You have to hit the gym

two or three times a week. Bilateral strengthening exercises of legs and arms are necessary in a sport like tennis, where most of the movements are side to side and asymmetric.

On top of that, core exercises are vital to keep your body balanced.

• Pamper your most valuable organ, your heart. The heart doesn’t like sharp ups and

downs. A proper warm-up and a slow cool down is necessary before and after each

practice. You can warm up 5 to 10 minutes on the treadmill and cool down on a stationary bike, or you can hit easy and gradually increase intensity before you play or

practice, then when finished, do the reverse and gradually step down your hitting

and movement.